Aluminum foil pans are widely used for cooking, baking and roasting since they are very efficient in quickly distributing heat and are also inexpensive, thus making them disposable. A wide variety of shapes and sizes of aluminum foil pans have been developed for use with food items to be cooked or baked or roasted in an oven. Generally, such pans have upper rims which add rigidity and strength to the pans. Also, stamped formations are typically provided in the bottom wall and creases are formed in the sidewall of the pan for additional reinforcement. To provide still further strength and stability, especially when foil pans are used for baking or roasting heavier items, such as turkeys, hams, roasts, etc., holders or racks for supporting disposable aluminum foil pans are now fairly widely used in association with the pans.
Frequently such holders and racks are permanently combined with a pan for one-time use and disposal. Such assemblies are available in the marketplace and typical such assemblies are illustrated in patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,065,629; 4,852,760; 4,029,721; and D-333,235. In the latter case the disposable pan is removably secured to the rack.
It would be desirable to provide an improved rack and pan assembly which is readily adaptable to marketing and shipping as a combined rack, pan and cover assembly, and which facilitates usage of the rack by incorporating the ability to be easily nested with another similarly designed rack and pan assembly.